Archives

Dr. David Graeber, professor of anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London on his book - Debt: The First 5000 years. How the concepts of debt and credit have defined human history and what this means for our current credit crisis and the future of our economy.

In this week's conversations with Great Minds Thom Hartmann talks with Chris Hedges, journalist and author of "The Death of the Liberal Class". Chris Hedges says, "The lunatic fringe of the Republican Party, which looks set to make sweeping gains in the midterm elections, is the direct result of a collapse of liberalism. It is the product of bankrupt liberal institutions, including the press, the church, universities, labor unions, the arts and the Democratic Party."

For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds, Thom Hartmann is joined by Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. Paul Krugman. Krugman received a Ph.D. from MIT - and has taught at several schools including Yale, MIT, and Stanford. He's written 20 books - including several best-sellers - and over 200 papers on international trade, finance, currencies, and several other areas. He's the recipient of numerous awards - including the Nobel Prize in economics, which he won in 2008. Currently - he is a professor of economics and current affairs at Princeton University - and you can read Paul Krugman's work everyday as a columnist on the pages of the New York Times. His new book is titled: End This Depression Now. Europe is in crisis mode. The United States could be headed off a fiscal cliff at the end of the year. And Congress doesn't seem to know what to do. Tonight Thom speaks with someone who DOES know what to do: Paul Krugman

Morris Berman, author Why America Failed: The Roots of Imperial Decline. "Why America Failed" is the third volume of his trilogy on the decline of the American empire. In it - Morris Berman examines America's commitment to economic liberalism and free enterprise going as far back as the late sixteenth century, and concludes that this ideology, combined with technological progress, was an inevitable recipe for creating the demise of the American empire as we are experiencing today. He served on the faculty of a number of universities in the United States, Canada and Europe and he currently resides in Mexico where he writes for a number of publications worldwide.

Thom Hartmann talks to Michio Kaku about his new book Physics of the Future. String theory, time itself and how bubbles form are all on the table. They also talk about the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown and the future of energy. Michio Kaku speaks directly to President Obama who supports Nuclear Power.

Jeffrey Smith, Executive Director-Institute for Responsible Technology, leading spokesperson on the health dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), author of the books "Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies about the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating" and "Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods." Genetically modified crops are all the rage these days - and have taken over the agriculture industries of many countries. But just how dangerous are genetically modified crops - and do we really need to be relying so heavily on them?

For tonight's Converation with Great Minds - I am joined by Dick Gregory to talk about Occupy Wall Street, his activist work on the death penalty for a white supremacist, the Keystone Pipeline and more. Dick Gregory is a comedian, social activist writer, and entrepreneur whose work has redefined how Americans perceive political comedy and African American comedians. He got his first big break when he was hired by Hugh Hefner to perform stand up at the Chicago Playboy Club in 1961 and he hasn't stopped since. He began political activism by running against Richard J. Daley for the mayor's office in Chicago in 1967 and followed that up with a write-in campaign for the Oval Office in 1968 as a candidate of the Freedom and Peace Party. He has devoted himself to many causes throughout his career as an activist - including civil rights, women's rights, anti-war campaigns, the international anti-apartheid movement and environmental protection issues. When Thom Hartmann ran a community for abused kids in New England in the early 1980s, he was on the advisory board, and did fundraisers for the Salem program, and he traveled with Thom to Uganda during the end of the war with Idi Amin to set up famine and medical relief programs. He has devoted his life to using his considerable talents and gifts to helping others. He now finds himself on Comedy Central's list of the 100 Greatest Standups of All Time and has his own star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.

Thom Hartmann talks to Michio Kaku about his new book Physics of the Future. String theory, time itself and how bubbles form are all on the table. They also talk about the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown and the future of energy. Michio Kaku speaks directly to President Obama who supports Nuclear Power.

Dr. David Graeber, professor of anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London on his book - Debt: The First 5000 years. The First 5000 years. How the concepts of debt and credit have defined human history and what this means for our current credit crisis and the future of our economy.

In this week's conversations with Great Minds Thom Hartmann talks with Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of "The Death of the Liberal Class". Chris Hedges says, "The lunatic fringe of the Republican Party, which looks set to make sweeping gains in the midterm elections, is the direct result of a collapse of liberalism. It is the product of bankrupt liberal institutions, including the press, the church, universities, labor unions, the arts and the Democratic Party."

Global warming is real - and possibly even worse than we've been told. Could it lead to the destruction of human civilization within just a few decades? For tonight's Conversations With Great Minds - I'm joined by Guy McPherson -Professor Emeritus of Natural Resources - Ecology - and Evolutionary Biology at the University Arizona. Guy is one of America's most influential experts on global warming - and writes about a variety of climate change-related issues for the Arctic News and his own website - Nature Bats Last. In the field of climate science - Guy is best known for his assertion that runaway global warming is already on a path to cause the extinction of the human race - an idea he has written about in his book - "Going Dark."

For tonight's Conversations with Great Minds, Thom Hartmann is joined by Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. Paul Krugman. Krugman received a Ph.D. from MIT - and has taught at several schools including Yale, MIT, and Stanford. He's written 20 books - including several best-sellers - and over 200 papers on international trade, finance, currencies, and several other areas. He's the recipient of numerous awards - including the Nobel Prize in economics, which he won in 2008. Currently - he is a professor of economics and current affairs at Princeton University - and you can read Paul Krugman's work everyday as a columnist on the pages of the New York Times. His new book is titled: End This Depression Now. Europe is in crisis mode. The United States could be headed off a fiscal cliff at the end of the year. And Congress doesn't seem to know what to do. Tonight Thom speaks with someone who DOES know what to do: Paul Krugman

Morris Berman, author Why America Failed: The Roots of Imperial Decline. "Why America Failed" is the third volume of his trilogy on the decline of the American empire. In it - Morris Berman examines America's commitment to economic liberalism and free enterprise going as far back as the late sixteenth century, and concludes that this ideology, combined with technological progress, was an inevitable recipe for creating the demise of the American empire as we are experiencing today. He served on the faculty of a number of universities in the United States, Canada and Europe and he currently resides in Mexico where he writes for a number of publications worldwide.